Known as a Suddenly Salad copycat, this pasta salad made with small shell pasta, ranch seasoning mix, peas, carrots and mayonnaise, is a well loved dish for any potluck, church supper or other gathering.

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

This recipe for Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is pretty much the same one floating around the internet everywhere for what they call a Suddenly Salad copycat, with a few of my own twists of course! I honestly used to love that boxed stuff when I was younger - so quick, easy and good - but it's been so long since I actually had pasta salad out of the box {not that there's a thing wrong with that}, that I can't even tell you if this tastes anywhere near the original. It is definitely another good one to add to the repertoire of pasta salads here, even if it's not so photogenic.

I didn't have any of the tiny shell pasta in the house when I decided to make this, but the regular medium sized shells will work fine too, as will rotini, macaroni, or other small pastas. If you have access to the Le Sueur peas, use those, but they are very tender so don't add them until the end after you've given everything else a real good mix, otherwise they'll mash up. You can certainly substitute other peas, including frozen.  As with most pasta salads, there are lots of add-ins you can use - celery, black olives, red onion, green or red bell pepper, a seeded and chopped tomato, just to name a few, and of course, all kinds of shredded cheeses - there really are endless possibilities. If you do want to add in tomato, clean, seed and chop it and add it right before serving. If you add it in the beginning, it will make your pasta salad watery.

Be sure to allow the flavors to meld together a bit in the fridge for several hours, or even better, overnight, before serving, because the flavor improves over time.

Here's how to make it!

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Recipe: Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Prep time: 20 min |Inactive time: 8 hours |

Yield: About 8 servings

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Ingredients

• 6 slices of bacon
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 2 cups of uncooked small shell pasta
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 2/3 cup of real mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
• 3 tablespoons (or 1 packet) of dry ranch dressing mix (like Hidden Valley Ranch or Bacon Ranch)
• Couple splashes of milk
• 1/2 cup of Le Sueur peas, or other young sweet pea, well drained

Instructions

Cook the bacon until crisp; remove to drain on a paper towel, chop and set aside. Put grated carrot into a microwave safe bowl, lightly sprinkle with water, cover and cook on high for 2 minutes; set aside to cool. Can also saute in a skillet, or boil in a saucepan if you don't have a microwave. Let cool, and wrap the cooked carrots in several layers of paper towels and squeeze out any residual liquid. Set aside.

Prepare pasta according to package directions; rinse and drain. Pat with paper towels. Transfer to a serving bowl, or storage container. Toss with just enough olive oil to just lightly coat the pasta. Stir in the mayonnaise until well blended. Add the chopped bacon, the cooked and cooled carrots, onion powder and ranch dressing mix; stir. Add a splash of milk, and stir in until creamy adding additional milk as needed for desired consistency. Stir in the well drained peas. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.  Flavor improves as it sits.

Cook's Notes: Canned Le Sueur peas are very tender, so add them after you've mixed everything else well, then gently toss to avoid mashing them. You can certainly substitute other peas, including frozen. As with most pasta salads, there are lots of add-ins you can use - celery, black olives, red onion, green or red bell pepper, a seeded and chopped tomato, just to name a few, and of course, all kinds of shredded cheeses - there really are endless possibilities. If you do want to add in tomato, clean, seed and chop it and add it right before serving too avoid making the pasta watery.

Source: http://www.deepsouthdish.com 

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©Deep South Dish

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Posted by Mary on May 22, 2010

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